Rise of the Sith Lords: A Prelude to Darkness
by Aquerus
Summary: [A Swtor Fanfiction] Kradok has just lost his family during a siege on Iridonia and has been sent to Tython for training under the Jedi, but a mysterious threat to the Jedi seems to have chosen Kradok for its next victim and mysterious circumstances seem determined to prevent Kradok from being trained as a Jedi...
1. First Impressions

**Rise of the Sith Lords**

**Prologue**

**A Prelude to Darkness**

(_First Impressions_)

I couldn't stop looking at the blue skies over Tython; it had been so long since I had seen the sky. The skies over my homeworld were nothing but ash soaked clouds and black smoke from the battlefields. I was so used to feeling that heat of the flames on my skin that had forgotten what a breeze of cool air felt like on my skin. As I gazed down at the cool waters below the master's retreat, the whole planet seemed so serene; it was hard to believe that anything could seem at peace when war still ravaged my homeworld.

I sensed them coming long before they arrived. A woman with long blond hair and blue pulled tight behind her head, her features were warm and inviting, she was dressed in very formal robes, that I was certain concealed a lightsaber; she had an air of knowledge and importance about her. She was followed by a young lavender Twi'lek, her lips were painted pink, and she a wore a dark blue sleeveless midriff top, dual lightsabers hung off the sides of her hips, a stark contrast to the formal attire of the woman in front of her.

"Hello. I am Master Denai Rann, and this is my Padawan Areeva Ban." She said.

"Kradok… Kradok Kaeyd." I was unsure of what this Master and her Padawan wanted from me, but their names didn't sound familiar or close to the name of the Master I was supposed to be meeting here today.

"Master Satele sends her apologies but recent events have made it unable for her to come and meet you herself. We are still dealing with the flesh raider attacks on our training grounds and… unforeseen complications, have taken up the councils attention. She also has asked me to inform you that she has yet to find a master suitable to your specific needs and has asked me to assist your training while things are sorted out." She said, the situation seemed a shock to her as much as it was to me

"I don't need a babysitter. So don't do me any favors." I was angry. This Satele woman had dismissed me like I was some errant child that she hadn't the time to deal with. She seemed to forget that the Jedi had requested my presence here on this forsaken planet.

"I'm not going to babysit you. The work you are going to be helping in is vital to the preservation of our order. Grand Master Satele felt that your experiences on Iridonia would prove useful in our endeavors." Her tone was abrupt, but not unfeeling, "I know you've been through a trying ordeal, and for that I am sorry, I think it would be beneficial for you to tell me about yourself before we proceed." She seemed genuinely concerned, but that didn't mean that I wasn't bothered by her request.

"I don't want to talk about it; I came here to train to be a Jedi, to learn how to defend against the empire, to be able to prevent what happened to my people from happening to other worlds." I lashed out; the pain was still fresh in my chest and I felt that at any moment I would burst into tears.

"I know this is painful, and you want to move forward, but trust me, the best thing you can do right now is to tell me what happened." She was both firm and gentle and although I wanted to it was impossible to refuse her.

"Two standard months ago, the imperial warships filled our skies and their soldiers razed our lands, burned our cities. My older brother Kordak, a member in the republic military, was assigned to the frontlines, I haven't heard anything from him since the start of the battle. My younger brothers and I tried to get as far away from the fighting as we possibly could, but every day we were surrounded by explosion and blaster fire as our world turned to ashes, Adarok, my younger brother… he betrayed us, he set a trap and handed us over to the imperials all for enough credits to buy transport off-world, I was held in a cage for more than a week, they tortured us, they took my baby brother Kadrok and me, they were going to sell us into slavery. The shock collar around my neck, I disabled it somehow… I ran, as my world blew up around me. I couldn't leave my brother… so I tried to go back, but the imperials surrounded me. They were going to kill me, but… I stuck up my hands… and their blaster fire went back at them, I was able to lift objects with my mind… the force as you call it, and throw them at my enemies. I was about to go back into the enemy camp to get my brother, when one of your people showed up, he wouldn't let go in… I fought him with my new-found abilities, he knocked me unconscious. When I woke up I was on a republic ship. The Jedi, I think his name was Kobu, he told me he was bringing me here and that I was to be trained to be a Jedi…" That's when Master Denai broke protocol she put her arms around me and hugged me as the tears I'd been holding back began to fall. Areeva averted her eyes, her face solemn, she pitied me.

"I'm sorry, when Master Satele told me of your situation; I had assumed… it doesn't matter." She pulled away and exchanged a worried glance with Areeva. "We are needed in Kalikori Village, a local Twi'lek settlement. Areeva will take you there. I will join you soon, Master Braga and I must determine how to proceed." She put her hands on my shoulders, "Everything is going to be alright," and with that she disappeared somewhere off into the retreat.

"Come on, Your life is about to get a lot more interesting." Areeva grabbed my hand and practically dragged me forward, "I can tell a lot about people, and I know, you and I we are gonna have a lot of fun together." She smirked at me, her eyes full of the good kind of mischief.

"I thought Jedi were about tolerance and restraint. I didn't think fun was part of the program." I said to her as we settled into the transport. Areeva looked at me, her smile seemed to dance across her face and she looked from side to side as if to make sure no one was in listening range.

"That's only if you want to become one of those stodgy old masters, you and I, we're meant for much more than Jedi politics." And with that we were off.

**[A/N: When I wrote this first chapter I had such great intentions for all of my characters, Master Denai especially, but stories have a way of writing themselves and rooting out characters that are good but otherwise unnecessary to the plot, enjoy watching things unfold.]**


	2. Rumblings in the Dark

(_Rumblings in the Dark_)

Areeva and I had been working for hours to help the citizens of Kalikori village, the sun had long since set and still we had not heard from Master Denai, the sky was dark and the torches at the edge of the village burned bright. I could sense the Twi'leks terror, at night was when the flesh raiders became vicious, even with me Areeva standing next to me and her lightsabers couldn't calm them. The flesh raiders cries rose up loud and violent in the distance. Strangely, the Twi'leks seemed more worried about us than the monsters in the woods.

"Areeva am I crazy, or do they not want us here." I said. Areeva sighed at looked at the ground for a bit.

"Master Denai said not to say anything..." She started, "There is a creature hunting us, in the last month several Jedi have gone missing, Padawans, Knights, even Master Kael, at some point during the night. Every night it is like darkness wakes up and starts hunting us; we can feel it even in the temple, it's this primal sort hunger and we have no idea what it is or where it could be."

"So they're afraid we are going to attract this creature." It suddenly made sense; in the daylight they wanted our help but a night we posed a greater threat than the flesh raiders. "Areeva, if this creature comes for us I have no way to defend myself."

I had no lightsaber, and I had only channeled the force on Iridonia when I was consumed by the rage and desire to save my brother. Areeva agreed to teach me enough to be able to defend myself even though she risked getting in trouble with her master, and for the next hour we sat in the middle of Kalikori and Areeva taught me how to awaken the force within myself.

"You're a quick study; pretty soon you'll be training along with the best of us." Areeva's lips twitched up into a half smile, as the boulders I had levitated around us began to swirl. I was starting to get the hang of this force thing after all. Suddenly Areeva stopped smiling; she got this terrified look on her face as if something had just gone terribly wrong. Then I felt it. I was as if all the energy had been sucked out of my body and only this gnawing hungry remained, an insatiable black pit the seeked to devour me.

"Its awake." Those fear soaked words were the only ones to leave Areeva's mouth. Her holocomm began to beep rapidly, and she quickly pulled it out of her pocket, It was Master Denai, "Areeva, you and Kradok must…. to the temp… before the te…" the comm shorted out.

"She wants us to return to the temple, we should hurry before we bring this beast upon my people." We went back to the taxi, but Areeva was unable to get it going, and while she was busy cursing the machine and trying to get it to work I noticed something altogether unsettling, "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Areeva said to me exasperatedly, she was angry. "No flesh raider cries." There was no noise everything seemed perfectly still and calm, with terror lurking in the shadows. Areeva's face became contorted with fear as if some dark realization crept into her mind. "It's coming… for us."

"I have to lure it away from my people, return to the temple, I'll join you as soon as I'm sure I've led it away." I tried to reason with her but she would hear none of and with that Areeva used the force and raced off into the distance, with only one problem. I had never been to the temple and had no idea where it was or how to get there. All the twi'leks had disappeared into their huts and there was no way they'd answer for me. I was going to have to find my own way to the temple.

I began to follow a path up a hill; it made sense to me that the Jedi academy would be at the top of mountain, sort of like a fortress, but as soon as I saw misshapen huts and rotting meat hanging from hooks I realized I'd gone the wrong way and was in the heart of flesh raider territory so I hurried along another path that led me through a forest and up against a waterfall I sensed that if I turned around and went the other way I'd find what I was looking for and the darkness seemed to have abated, but as I turned around a creature leapt down from the mountain side blocking my path. It was a large white monstrosity with a shield-like head with horns and teeth like pikes, its hands were enormous claws and its eyes were an endless, shapeless void that were staring directly at me.

I ran. I could hear its stomping along behind me and bellowing with rage, it was on my train following me into a cave above the waterfall; it was so dark I couldn't see where I was going but I was somehow able to navigate the pathways through the cavern. The creature was having trouble keeping up I could hear it running into walls and hitting its head on the lower overhangs. I emerged on the edge of a cliff, I couldn't see the bottom but I could hear rapids rushing below, I turned to see if I could run along the cliff side but the creature emerged from behind me, It was enraged, drool poured down from the edges of its mouth. I had no choice. I jumped off the edge of the cliff and fell into the rapids below.

I hit the water hard, doing my best to ignore the pain and remain calm all while keeping my head above water; the rapids took me under the mountain. It was impossible to see anything. Something in the water grabbed me, fearing it was the beast I tried to fight it off, but it overpowered me and swung me on its back and began to swim against the current, I could feel the scales on its skin as I swam, not out into the open but up a different path up into the dark, gradually I began to see a light, not a natural light, torches, lots of them ablaze in alcove up ahead.

I was then thrown up onto damp land; I turned around to help pull my rescuer from the water when something struck me from behind. I fell to the ground, a blinding pain emerging from the back of my head. I could hear them arguing over me in a language that sounded like gargling, one of them grabbed the back of my clothes, lifted my chest up off the ground and began to drag me deeper into the cave. Darkness crept in from the corner of my eyes, as I slipped into unconsciousness.


End file.
